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226
Americans. 7 In 1897, a total of 3,478
African Americans recorded their
occupations in the directory. Of those, the
two largest categories were washerwomen,
butlers, or other domestic houseworkers
( 1,087) employed by white households and
the general laborers ( 1,326). 8 It is unknown
7 When working towards a classification scheme for
grading occupations, most economists have used the
standards developed by the U. S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics. However, those standards do not easily
apply to Wilmington. One example can be seen in
the category of unskilled labor, which included
stevedores, draymen, and laborers. In Wilmington,
many stevedores received higher pay than day-laborers
and occupied a higher social status because
of their jobs at Sprunt’s cotton compress. Further,
draymen were self- employed and often owned their
wagons and horses, placing their working status
above laborers and some stevedores. Additionally,
building trades represented a long- standing tradition
of carpentry by some of the city’s most respected and
wealthy African American families. For this study,
stevedores, carpenters, and those in maritime and
railroad trades were singled out to reflect the specific
roles those occupations played in the overall life of
the city. Food service workers were singled out to
study because they represented an up- and- coming
trend in the city and reflected some of the first post-
1898 entrepreneurial movements.
8 Of the 1,018 domestic workers, 971 were employed
in jobs such as washerwoman, housemaid, maid and
cook— jobs traditionally reserved for African
American women who worked for white employers
in white homes. There were 511 cooks and 421
washerwomen or laundresses in the 1897 city
directory. Oral histories of many African American
families are peppered with memories of at least one
family member who worked for a white family. The
pay was low but afforded a guaranteed income,
which helped families when male incomes were
either nonexistent or were unstable due to seasonal
employment. Other interviewees recalled that it was
an important status symbol to work for a prominent,
wealthy white family and recalled that employment
with pride. The category also includes nurses. It is
unknown if the modern interpretation of the
occupation of nurse as a trained health service
provider is appropriate for all individuals.
Alternative interpretation of the term could be that
these women provided child- or elder- care services in
white homes, implying less educational training and
pay. Wilmington did have a hospital at the time, but
what types of work were most represented
by men who reported their occupation as
laborer, but laborers generally received low
pay, had minimal degrees of job security,
and are typically classified as unskilled.
These two categories— laborers and
domestics— together represented 68 percent
of the city’s African American employment.
DeRossett House, ca. 1872. Although the
image is of the grand house and family,
just inside the photo can be seen the
family’s washerwoman with her basket.
Image: North Carolina Collection, University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill
the composition and number of its staff is unknown.
A newspaper account from the day of the violence
indicated that the hospital staff was predominately
white. For oral histories by Wilmington African
Americans, see the Behind the Veil Project at Duke
University or the files of the Cape Fear Museum,
Wilmington, North Carolina.

226
Americans. 7 In 1897, a total of 3,478
African Americans recorded their
occupations in the directory. Of those, the
two largest categories were washerwomen,
butlers, or other domestic houseworkers
( 1,087) employed by white households and
the general laborers ( 1,326). 8 It is unknown
7 When working towards a classification scheme for
grading occupations, most economists have used the
standards developed by the U. S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics. However, those standards do not easily
apply to Wilmington. One example can be seen in
the category of unskilled labor, which included
stevedores, draymen, and laborers. In Wilmington,
many stevedores received higher pay than day-laborers
and occupied a higher social status because
of their jobs at Sprunt’s cotton compress. Further,
draymen were self- employed and often owned their
wagons and horses, placing their working status
above laborers and some stevedores. Additionally,
building trades represented a long- standing tradition
of carpentry by some of the city’s most respected and
wealthy African American families. For this study,
stevedores, carpenters, and those in maritime and
railroad trades were singled out to reflect the specific
roles those occupations played in the overall life of
the city. Food service workers were singled out to
study because they represented an up- and- coming
trend in the city and reflected some of the first post-
1898 entrepreneurial movements.
8 Of the 1,018 domestic workers, 971 were employed
in jobs such as washerwoman, housemaid, maid and
cook— jobs traditionally reserved for African
American women who worked for white employers
in white homes. There were 511 cooks and 421
washerwomen or laundresses in the 1897 city
directory. Oral histories of many African American
families are peppered with memories of at least one
family member who worked for a white family. The
pay was low but afforded a guaranteed income,
which helped families when male incomes were
either nonexistent or were unstable due to seasonal
employment. Other interviewees recalled that it was
an important status symbol to work for a prominent,
wealthy white family and recalled that employment
with pride. The category also includes nurses. It is
unknown if the modern interpretation of the
occupation of nurse as a trained health service
provider is appropriate for all individuals.
Alternative interpretation of the term could be that
these women provided child- or elder- care services in
white homes, implying less educational training and
pay. Wilmington did have a hospital at the time, but
what types of work were most represented
by men who reported their occupation as
laborer, but laborers generally received low
pay, had minimal degrees of job security,
and are typically classified as unskilled.
These two categories— laborers and
domestics— together represented 68 percent
of the city’s African American employment.
DeRossett House, ca. 1872. Although the
image is of the grand house and family,
just inside the photo can be seen the
family’s washerwoman with her basket.
Image: North Carolina Collection, University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill
the composition and number of its staff is unknown.
A newspaper account from the day of the violence
indicated that the hospital staff was predominately
white. For oral histories by Wilmington African
Americans, see the Behind the Veil Project at Duke
University or the files of the Cape Fear Museum,
Wilmington, North Carolina.